Which is the best airline in the world? Hint: Not Qatar Airways or Emirates!

Korean Air | Ranked at the 10th spot, Korean Air owns 164 aircraft (138 passenger and 26 cargo) and operates scheduled flights to 123 cities in 43 countries worldwide, including 13 cities in South Korea. As of 2016, the carrier served about 28 million passengers annually with a reported operating revenue of $10.8 billion. (All images are copyright of the respective airlines)

2/10

Azul | Only South American airline in the list, Azul is placed ninth according to travellers’ reviews on TripAdvisor. Its rank has dropped six rungs compared to a similar list by TripAdvisor in 2017. As per the latest data made public by the Brazilian carrier, it has 138 aircraft and serves about 105 destinations in the US, Europe and South America.

3/10

Qatar Airways | Only the third five-star rated airline in the list, the carrier serves 150 destinations across the six continent. Based in Hamad International Airport in Doha, it employs over 46,000 staff globally. Started in 1997, Qatar Airways claims itself to be the world’s fastest-growing airline.

4/10

Jet2 | The third largest airline in the UK flies 12 million passengers annually. Along with its sister service Jet2Holidays, it generated over $2.39 billion of revenue in FY17. With its 50 aircraft, the low cost carrier flies to more than 50 destinations across Europe.

5/10

Southwest Airlines | World’s largest airline by market value ($33.6 billion, Forbes) ranks sixth on the Travellers’ Choice Awards for Airlines in 2018. Southwest operates about 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 100 destinations in the US and 10 additional countries. Overall, it serves 120 million passengers annually.

6/10

EVA Air | One of the only eight 5-Star Airlines named worldwide by international quality ratings organization Skytrax, the Taiwanese carrier flies to more than 60 destinations across the world. It has a fleet of 70 aircraft which include products of Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Airbus.

7/10

Japan Airlines | The airline which reported an operating revenue of $13.47 billion for the first nine months of the financial year 2017-18 ranks fourth in the Travellers’ Choice Awards by TripAdvisor. In a year, the carrier serves about 41 million passengers.

8/10

Emirates | Ranking third, the Emirates is one of the two airlines from the Middle East placed in top 10. With a fleet of more than 265 aircraft, which include 100 Airbus A380s — the world’s largest passenger airliner, it currently flies to over 155 destinations in more than 80 countries around the world.

9/10

Air New Zealand | The Kiwi carrier which flies more than 15 million passengers a year ranks second in the TripAdvisor’s list. With an operating fleet of 105 aircraft which ranges from mighty Boeing 777-300 to the Bombardier Q300, the airline dominates the Pacific Rim.

10/10

Singapore Airlines | The national carrier of the tiny Asian island with its hub at the best airport in the world (Changi Airport) ranks at the top on TripAdvisor’s list. Apart from that, the Five-Star airline is also the recipient of seven awards in categories that include Best Airline – Asia, Best Economy Class – World and Best International First Class – World.